The Kalmyk-Oirats of Kyrgyzstan

The Kalmyk-Oirats of Kyrgyzstan, numbering approximately 8,200 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Western Mongol diaspora people of Oirat heritage who speak Kalmyk-Oirat and trace their origins to the Oirat communities of Inner Asia; they are traditionally associated with Tibetan Buddhism. They mostly adhere to Tibetan Buddhism and Kalmyk is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Kalmyk-Oirat

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: East Asian Peoples
Country: Kyrgyzstan
People Cluster: Mongolian
Primary Language(s): Kalmyk (xal)
Primary Religion(s): Tibetan Buddhism
Population: 8,200
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024352
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Tibetan Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

69%
%
Tibetan Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kalmyk
Language Family: Mongolic-Khitan

100%
%
Kalmyk-Oirat Speakers

Media Resources in Kalmyk:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Kalmyk:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2002 Institute for Bible Translation, Moscow✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Kalmyk bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Kalmyk-Oirats:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Pray specifically for the Kalmyk-Oirats of Kyrgyzstan

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
readRomans 5:10

Pray that any who may be enemies of God will grasp the depth of God's love demonstrated through Christ's death for the ungodly, and be reconciled to Him.

And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
read2 Timothy 2:2

Pray that the lost will come to faith in Christ and be discipled in the truth of the gospel, becoming faithful followers of Jesus who, in turn, make disciples themselves.

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.
readRomans 4:20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will not waver but will grow strong in their belief, knowing that the Lord rewards those who seek Him.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
readPsalm 57:9

Pray that God will raise up believers among them who will boldly go and share the gospel with people nearby and with those far away.

Oirat, Western Mongul Across Countries (ROP3 - 107607) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

6 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Kalmyk-OiratsKalmyk-OiratsMongolia191,000Unengaged and UnreachedKalmykChinese Folk Religion
Kalmyk-OiratsKalmyk-OiratsRussian Federation183,000Engaged yet UnreachedKalmykTibetan Buddhism
Kok Nur OiratKok Nur OiratChina105,000Engaged yet UnreachedKalmykMahayana Buddhism
Kalmyk-OiratsKalmyk-OiratsKyrgyzstan8,200Unengaged and UnreachedKalmykTibetan Buddhism
OiratOiratUnited States1,900Engaged yet UnreachedKalmykTibetan Buddhism
Kalmyk-OiratsKalmyk-OiratsUzbekistan1,000Unengaged and UnreachedKalmykMahayana Buddhism

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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